Spurs are one of the top five teams in world football, says van der Vaart

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Rafael van der Vaart believes his old club are one of the five best teams in world football.

The Dutch star believes trophies and honours are only a matter of time for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, having kept all of their key players this summer.

A lot was made by the lack of incoming transfers at Tottenham prior to the kick-off of the 2018/19 season, yet none of their key players left either.

Since Pochettino became manager, the club has progressed quickly and are soon to move into their state-of-the-art new stadium which will help them continue their upward trajectory.

Silverware may have eluded them in the past couple of seasons but they have overtaken their north London rivals, Arsenal, in the chase for Champions League football.

Van der Vaart is very happy to see his former club thriving, with the current crop of players having built upon what was an initial foray into Champions League football a few seasons ago.

“I’m not surprised that they are doing so well,” the Dutchman, who spent two years in north London between 2010 and 2012, told Ukrainian news outlet Football.ua.

“I already knew that they have great players, but recently they have made great progress and are now in the top five in the world.

“I always say that they became the best in the world because they trained with me!

“In my day we had a lot more players with a great name, but the current line-up acts more like a team. And, of course, they are talented.

“Kane scores a lot, Eriksen has incredible talent, Dele Alli also scores. Now they have more opportunities.

“I’m still very much a fan of Tottenham, so I want them to win something. I hope they will do soon.”

With the lack of incoming transfers, many felt that Spurs might stagnate but they also managed to keep their key players, many of whom have been linked to the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Van der Vaart was keen to stress, however, that keeping their leaders and key players will be more important than bringing new talent into a team already replete with quality.

He added: “I hope that Tottenham will retain its leaders and finally become a champion. I think this is more important than selling players.

“Of course, everyone talks about Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, but I think now they are really strong as a team.”

Tottenham have won their first three games so far, including their impressive 3-0 drubbing of Manchester United on Monday, and face Watford next weekend.

The post Spurs are one of the top five teams in world football, says van der Vaart appeared first on Squawka News.

From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2NqPe3v